Wall and step construction



July 23, 9 I A. HENDERSON 2,208,344

WALL AND STEP CONSTRUCTION Filed May 4, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 amw pram

INVENTOR July 23, 1940.

A. HENDERSON WALL AND STEP CONSTRUCTION Filed May 4, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l N V ENTO R 4/6 er Henderson Patented July 23, 1940 mes-4r WALL AND STEP CONSTRUCTION Albert Henderson, Pittsburgh, Pa, assignor to William P. Witherow, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application May 4, 1939, Serial No. 271,684

3 Claims.

This invention relates to steps and, in particular, to the construction of exterior masonry steps adjacent a doorway in a building wall.

Outside masonry steps as heretofore constructed have usually been supported on footings on the ground and against the wall of the building containing the doorway from which the steps lead. This construction is subject to the objection that settling of the ground adjacent the wall, which is a common occurrence, causes the steps to pull away from the wallso that-they sag at a dangerous angle and present an un-, sightly appearance.

I have invented a novelstep construction which is carried entirely On the building wall and supported independently of the ground adjacent the wall so that settling of the ground does not cause sagging or dislocation of the steps. In a preferred form of the invention, I provide beams extending outwardly from the wall, the inner ends of the beams being laid in the wall.. Treads are supported on the beams and I provide braces or struts extending inwardly from the beams to the wall, to make the entire construction strong and rigid. Several typical forms of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and will be more fully explained in the following detailed description. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a partial elevation of a wall having incorporated therein a step construction according to the invention, the earth which would normally be filled in around the steps being omitted;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along the plane of line II--II of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along the plane of line IIIIII of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 2 showing a further modified construction, the plane of section being indicated by the line IX-IX of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line X--X of Fig. 4.

Referring now in detail to the drawings and for the present to Figs. 1 through 3, a wall In which may, for example, be the foundation wall of a dwelling, is composed of blocks I! laid up in courses on a footing I2. I provide steps adjacent a doorway l3 in the wall Ill by laying beams or long blocks l4, l5 and it with their inner ends in the wall. The beams are preferably precast reinforced members of concrete or the like and are of various lengths. They are rectangular in section, and preferably have a depth twice their width and equal to the height of the blocks II. If the latter are nominally 8" x 8" x 1.6" (actually 7%" a 7 /4 :1 the beams should be 4" x3 (actually 3%" x'l lhe inner ends of the beams thus occup onefourth the space required fora full blocl; II. By theuse of suitable fractional blocks such as a half block H and a quarter block it as dis? closed and claimed in my Patent No. 2,151,468,

the beams may be laid in the wall without disturbing the sequence of the full blocks and the vertical joints in the several courses. The joints between the beams and between the beams and blocks are mortared, the same as the jointsbe-,

tween the blocks.

' The beams M have notches is adjacent their outer ends. A girder which is also a precast reinforced member of concretc or the like,,has'

notches loadjacent its ends, said notches being adapted to interfit with the notches i9. Braces or struts 21 which are also preferably precast reinforced concrete members, extend downwardly from the girderv 20 and inwardly toward the wall It. The upper edges of the braces 28 are notched as at 22 to receive the lower edge of the girder Zihwhile the lower ends of the braces are shaped as at 23 for close abutment against the wall and footing.

As shown in the drawings, the outer ends of the beams l4, I5 and i6 are set back successively and tread slabs 24 are laid on the exposed ends of each pair of beams. Riser slabs 25 are also laid in as illustrated. The tread slabs may conveniently be 2 x 12" (actually 1%" x11 4") and the riser slabs 2"x8" (actually 1%"x V 4").

To complete the step construction, I provide a door sill 2'5 composed of two 4"X8" beams laid on their side and one similar beam laid on edge, the beams forming the sill being disposed on the beam. It. The beams forming the supports for the treads are provided with keys 2'! to prevent shifting thereof under the horizontal thrust developed on loading.

It will be apparent that the step construction described above forms an integral part of the wall, being supported thereon independently of the ground beneath-the steps. The beams 14, i5 and i6 extend outwardly. from the wall as cantilevers, being braced from the wall footing by the braces or struts 21. It is thus evident that no settling of the ground adjacent the wall can cause sagging of the steps or separation thereof from the wall.

Figs. 4-. and 5 illustrate an adaptation of the principle of the invention to an outside tread slab at substantially the same level as the ground floor of the building. The portions of this structure which are identical with those of Figs. 1 to 3 are designated by the same reference numerals.

Tread slabs 42 are supported on beams 42a having their inner ends laid in the wall H]. The slabs 42 are of channel shape in section and the upper edges of the beams 420. are notched to receive the flanges of the slabs. The beams also have a longitudinal groove 43 in their upper edge providing a key to prevent transverse shifting of the slabs 42 on the beams. The beams 42a are rectangular in section, having a depth equal to the height of the blocks II and a width which is equal to one-fourth the length of the blocks, the beams being 4 x 8" nominally.

Abutments 44 are provided in the wall II by laying short lengths of 4" x 8" precast members transversely therein. Braces or struts 45 engage the projecting ends of the abutments 44 and support the beams 420. near their outer ends. The beams are notched as at 46 to receive the ends of the struts 45 which are shaped to form an acute angle. The lower ends of the braces 45 are notched as at 41 to engage the ends of the abutments 44. The joints between the several parts of the wall and step construction are mortared as shown. The braces 45 are keyed to the beams 4| and the abutments 44'by metal blocks 48.

The structure of Fig. 5 provides adequate support for an exterior tread slab adjacent a door opening on a floor which is only slightly above the ground level and is characterized by the same advantages which have been pointed out for the previously described step constructions.

I have illustrated and described but a few of the numerous forms which the invention may take, and it will be understood that changes in the construction and arrangement disclosed may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a building foundation, a wall, beams having their inner ends mortared in the Wall, said beams extending outwardly from the wall in spaced relation, blocks laid on said beams, said blocks being successively set back inwardly from the outer ends of the beams, tread slabs laid on the exposed ends of said blocks forming steps, and bracing means supporting the outer ends of said beams from said wall.

2. In a building foundation, a wall composed of blocks laid up in courses, beams extending outwardly from the wall in spaced relation, the inner ends of the beams being embedded in the wall to a depth equal to substantially the full thickness of the wall, said embedded ends precisely replacing a fraction of the length of one of said blocks, and transmitting the full load applied to the wall, a tread member supported on said beams, and bracing means supporting the outer ends of said beams from said wall.

3. In a building foundation, a wall composed of blocks laid up in courses, beams extending outwardly from the wall in spaced relation, the inner ends of the beams being embedded in the wall, a block laid crosswise of the wall below said beams and extending outwardly beyond the outside surface of the wall, a tread member supported on said beams, and bracing means supporting the outer ends of said beams, said bracing means resting on said crosswise block.

ALBERT HENDERSON. 

